Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 32,955 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,955 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $7,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DFS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Discover Financial Services in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 282.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Discover Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 465 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John Greene sold 35,191 shares of Discover Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total transaction of $3,748,193.41. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,233.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on DFS. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $117.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut Discover Financial Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Discover Financial Services from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research reissued a "peer perform" rating on shares of Discover Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $116.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.29.

Discover Financial Services Price Performance

Discover Financial Services stock traded down $3.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,448,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,735. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.01. The company has a market cap of $31.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.45. Discover Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $79.04 and a fifty-two week high of $131.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($1.88). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.07 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Discover Financial Services will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Discover Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

About Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; private student loans, personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.